Wien Updates of Late

For most of February I was either in class, studying, organizing, or trip planning during the week because my weekends have been a bit packed. That doesn't make for an exciting read, I know, but I at least have a few things worth mention to show for the time.

For one, Anna, David, and I went to Schönbrunner Stöckl for lunch one afternoon. It was a mix of Viennese and Czech Republic fare and despite not being able to pronounce most of the words off the menu (I'm fine with the German part, not so much the Czech) it looked like it was hard to go wrong with any of the items off the menu. There are definitely some things I'd like to go back and try from the Bohemian Classics section. It was all reasonably priced, too, especially considering it's attached to Schönbrunn. It's on the far east side (the side opposite the zoo), right on the corner. It's also hard to beat the atmosphere when there are little marionettes dangling from the ceiling.

In other culinary notes, Anna and I went to SKY Bar for brunch last week. I had been there once before at night, but we had heard good things about its food, so we decided to embark on a daytime adventure. It's on the top floor of Steffl on Kärtnerstraße, and since buildings in the first district aren't allowed to be above a certain height, we had a great view of Stephansdom from just two blocks away.

(It still being winter, the balcony wasn't adorned quite so nicely. Or at all. Picture from SKY Bar | Café | Restaurant)

The food was light and geschmacklich (tasty, from geschmect which literally translates to "taste". Waiters often ask, "Was there taste?" when they take your plate; my theory is that it derives from times when food was pretty bland, so it was a complement if the food had much flavor). There weren't too many patrons there, but the ones that were were without a doubt locals. The waiters were friendly and helpful, and they made a mean Bloody Mary. We'll definitely be going back here.

I was also witness to the Vienna Opera Ball in mid February. Maybe not the inside, not this time at least, but I got a glimpse of the glamour. I had occasion to be there because I played chauffeur for the evening. They had closed off an entire section of the Ring before and after the Staatsoper so I dropped my employee off a few blocks away, but decided to park and walk over to see what all the fuss was about. It was definitely a red carpet event with many people arriving by horse and fiaker ('carriage', but hey, I'm in Vienna). There was a large crowd gathered in the sub-zero temperatures to watch the spectacle... from across five-lanes. The area was completely fenced off and the closest you could get was the other side of the Ring. One day...

I also got to go to the premiere of Viktoria und ihr Husar at the Baden Theater (with 6th row tickets to boot). I took David along for the performance, too. It's a relatively popular operetta in these parts and was written relatively recently; it premiered in Budapest in 1930 and was written by Paul Abraham with a libretto by Alfred Grünwald and Fritz Löhner-Beda. I thought it was very entertaining and really enjoyed the evening. Darius Merstein-MacLeod as John Cunlight and Stefan Bleiberschnig supporting as John's brother were the best of the evening in my humble opinion. Although infrequent, I always enjoy my Baden Theater experiences. Looking forward to the next one, whenever that will be.

Bis bald!